Panel urges 5-year bureaucratic reform

02/01/2008
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

An advisory panel to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will propose the government revamp the bureaucracy system "within five years," according to its final report adopted Thursday.

But the report, to be presented to Fukuda this month, stopped short of banning direct contact between politicians and bureaucrats, often said to be the root of collusive practices.

Instead, the panel calls for regulating such contact.

The government plans to introduce a bill to reform the central government bureaucracy system to the current Diet session.

The panel also specifically calls for the introduction of a bill in 2009 to establish a "Cabinet personnel agency" to integrate management of key bureaucrats.

In employing government officials, the current system of career and non-career tracks will be dropped.

In their place will be three categories--comprehensive, specialist and general.

The new personnel agency will be in charge of hiring those in the comprehensive category, who will hold key positions in the future, and assign them to each ministry or agency.

The purpose of the new entity, to be headed by a Cabinet minister, is to promote flexible personnel management, exchange of staff among entities and hiring of a variety of people.

The panel also recommends that officials in the comprehensive category be appointed to only about half of the managerial positions in the future.

The remainder should be picked from other categories or be mid-career hires, it says.

To strengthen Cabinet functions, "state strategy staff" should be created, tapping outside specialists as well as bureaucrats, according to the report.

With the exception of ministers, senior vice ministers, parliamentary secretaries and new "political affairs specialists," government officials will not be allowed to directly meet politicians.

They will be allowed to contact politicians only under a Cabinet minister's instruction and other strict rules.

The focus has now shifted to how the government will reflect the panel's proposals in formulating reform bills.

Consensus has yet to be reached within the government and ruling coalition on contacts with politicians and other controversial points.(IHT/Asahi: February 1,2008)

EDITORIAL: State of the Union

01/31/2008

In February 2001, newly inaugurated U.S. President George W. Bush told a joint session of Congress: "Let us agree to bridge old divides. But let us also agree that our goodwill must be dedicated to great goals." Seven years later, Bush on Jan. 28 delivered his last State of the Union address from the same podium. What did he think about the deep "divide" that has been formed in the United States and the world?

With the 2008 presidential election campaign now heating up, the speech in a sense was Bush's last chance to remind the public of his achievements during his two terms as president and legacy he hopes to leave for the "post-Bush" era.

However, he had nothing to say of the "divide" created by none other than his own administration.

For Americans today, the economy is their greatest concern. The crisis over foreclosures on subprime mortgages has shaken the U.S. economy. Even Bush admitted in his address, "At kitchen tables across the country, there is a concern about our economic future."

His $150 billion stimulus package, announced earlier this month, has the support of the opposition Democrats. But some Democrats booed loudly from the floor when Bush proposed making permanent the hefty tax cuts he has pursued throughout his presidency.

The Democrats charge that such tax cuts, if made permanent, would only serve to institutionalize the already widening gap between the rich and the poor. Bush stood for "compassionate conservatism" when he sought and won the presidency in 2000, but his administration has since been criticized constantly for favoring only the wealthy.

While Wall Street executives make astronomical sums of money, blue-collar workers live in constant fear of losing their jobs to competition from the developing world. One influential economist has warned that the "affluent middle class," which has sustained the prosperity of American society since the end of World War II, is now disappearing.

Criticism against free trade agreements and how to deal with illegal immigrants are among focal issues of presidential debates now being held. There is a strong undercurrent of frustration with the present administration over its inability to allay people's fear that globalization will further aggravate existing social disparities.

There is no question that 9/11 posed the greatest challenge to the Bush administration. In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks, the administration had overwhelming support of the public. But now, its approval ratings are around 30 percent. This means Bush's "war against terror" has failed.

Yet, Bush boasted in his State of the Union speech that "the American and Iraqi surges have achieved results few of us could have imagined just one year ago." True, the bloody sectarian clashes have abated and U.S. troop casualties have fallen. But nobody believes the war against terrorism has reversed course and its headed for success.

In Afghanistan, too, the starting point of Bush's war against terror, the situation has only deteriorated. Among U.S. allies, divides are being shaped. Pakistan faces a political crisis.

Kathleen Sebelius, the Democratic governor of Kansas, criticized Bush's address, saying, "America's foreign policy has left us with fewer allies and more enemies."

We empathize with her comments. How can Bush work on domestic and international issues in the remainder of his term? He should remember what he said in his State of the Union seven years ago.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 30(IHT/Asahi: January 31,2008)

FOCUS: Ex-teachers await verdict on Hinomaru, Kimigayo suit

TOKYO, Jan. 30 KYODO
Jan.30.2008 13:47

Hiroko Arai was looking forward to teaching high school English as a non-regular instructor following her mandatory retirement as a full-time teacher, as part-timers are exempted from most miscellaneous duties and can focus purely on course instruction.

Photo: Hiroko Arai (R), Nobuki Matsubara (C) and Keiko Kanke (L) speak to reporters about their damages suit involving the Hinomaru and Kimigayo in Tokyo.

But those hopes were dashed in March 2004, when Arai remained seated for 40 seconds while other attendees at her school's graduation ceremony stood up and sang the Kimigayo national anthem.

She would not sing the anthem in front of the Hinomaru national flag on the belief that they symbolize Japanese militarism and would not accept a notice issued by the Tokyo metropolitan government's education board on Oct. 23, 2003, that directed school principals to order teachers to stand and sing the anthem or else be reprimanded.

''I have told my students to make their own decisions on what they should do, not unquestioningly follow the majority or obey those in power,'' said Arai, 62, who was a teacher for 35 years. ''I could not follow an order that undermines democracy at schools. It is just like a copper tablet with a crucifix,'' she said, referring to an antiquated Japanese method to test a person's belief in Christianity.

After her application to continue teaching post-retirement was rejected prior to her retirement in 2005, Arai filed a damages suit against the metropolitan government, arguing that the notice and the instruction infringe on her constitutionally guaranteed freedom of thought and conscience.

Eleven like-minded former teachers and a former school clerk joined the suit, to which the Tokyo District Court is scheduled to hand down its ruling on Feb. 7. The plaintiffs are each seeking 5.6 million yen in compensation.

According to the complaint, most employees at schools run by the metropolitan government were rehired for up to five years following mandatory retirement at age 60, other than in extremely exceptional cases, if they wanted to continue working.

But 25 school employees, including the 13 plaintiffs, have so far been refused part-time work since the issuance of the Oct. 23 anthem notice, according to the plaintiffs and their lawyers.

Keiko Matsukawa, senior official at the Tokyo education board, said it turned down the plaintiffs' applications ''because their work performances were not good enough in view of the fact that they refused to follow the instructions of their principals.''

A total of 388 teachers at public schools in Tokyo have been reprimanded in some way over the Oct. 23 notice, according to the education board.

''It was rumored that school employees would be dismissed if they refused to follow the instruction based on the notice two or three times, so I just stood up when people sang Kimigayo at three school ceremonies between 2003 and 2004,'' said Nobuki Matsubara, 62, another plaintiff. ''It was a long 40 seconds.''

Matsubara, however, decided to remain seated at a graduation ceremony in March 2005, when he was in charge of the senior class. ''I wanted to express my feeling honestly to my students at the last stage of my teaching life,'' said the former social science teacher, who was also denied post-retirement work over his disobedience.

The notice was issued after the Kimigayo and the Hinomaru were legally designated as the national anthem and flag, respectively, in 1999.

The plaintiffs say it goes against a parliamentary agreement that authorities should not forcibly impose the anthem and the flag on the public, citing remarks by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka.

Nonaka said, ''People will be able to decide whether to stand up or remain seated (at the time of singing the anthem) at their own discretion, and this legislation does not aim to cause standardization of people's behaviors.''

Before the issuance, many public schools in Tokyo gave attendees at school ceremonies the choice to stand up and sing the anthem or remain silently seated as it is an issue involving their freedom of thought, according to the complaint.

''The parent of a graduate with South Korean nationality could remain seated peacefully, thanks to the explanation about the freedom of thought,'' Arai said about her experience at a graduation ceremony. ''Such practice was quite important for those who cannot accept singing Kimigayo.''

Several lawsuits have been filed over the controversial notice mainly by disciplined teachers, seeking nullification of the disciplinary measures and appealing the unconstitutionality of the notice. Verdicts have been divided.

On Sept. 21, 2006, the Tokyo District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, determining the Tokyo education board cannot force teachers to sing Kimigayo in front of the Hinomaru or reprimand them for refusing to do so as such acts infringe on the freedom of thought guaranteed under the Constitution.

The ruling is now pending at the Tokyo High Court.

The Supreme Court, on the contrary, determined Feb. 27 last year it is constitutional for a public school principal to order a music teacher to play the piano to accompany the singing of Kimigayo at a school ceremony, rejecting the teacher's argument that such an order violates freedom of thought and conscience.

''The principal's order for piano accompaniment does not mean denial of the plaintiff's view of history and of the world, and cannot be said to violate freedom of thought and conscience under the Constitution's Article 19,'' the top court ruled.

The decision was followed by a Tokyo District Court ruling on June 20, which dismissed demands for post-retirement re-employment by 10 former teachers, who had once been accepted as part-timers but were then denied for refusing to comply with the board's directive.

''Although the impact of the orders on (the plaintiffs') psychological state cannot be denied, it was acceptable as a reasonable constraint stemming from the public nature of their duties,'' the district court ruled.

Keiko Kanke, a 62-year-old former school clerk who has joined the suit with Arai and Matsubara, said, ''It will give way to 'Nazism' in Japan if school employees continue to be punished for disobeying this unreasonable order.''

''I have joined the suit because I do not want to see active teachers and school employees affected by such practices anymore,'' she said.

==Kyodo

GCA Urges Legislature, Local Officials To Help Address Labor Shortage On Guam

Pacific News Center Staff Reporter
30.JAN.08

2:00 p.m. Guam - The Guam Contractors' Association (GCA) urged the Guam Legislature and local officials to help the private sector cope with the labor shortage on Guam.

GCA Executive Director James A. Martinez said in an interview with Ray Gibson that problem of labor shortage should be immediately addressed, especially in light of the impending military build-up on Guam.

"We need to plan now, especially with the road projects and the impending military build-up," said Martinez.

Meanwhile, Martinez disclosed that the GCA is sponsoring its first fund-raising rodeo event for the benefit of Special Olympics Guam, a non-profit organization. The Special Olympics is scheduled for March 15.

He said the rodeo event will be held at the Guam International Raceway on February 23.

Instead of horses and cowboys, Martinez disclosed that the event will feature backhoes, forklifts and other heavy equipment used in construction.

Residents may call the GCA at 6474840 for more details on the event.

Here is the entire interview with Martinez on "The Breakfast Show" aired on News Talk K57.

Click here to download the podcast if you can't get the player to work.
- Pacific News Center - Guam, Saipan, CNMI, Asia-Pacific

New approach for the DPJ

Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008

By TOBIAS HARRIS
Special to The Japan Times

When the Lower House of the Diet passed the antiterror special measures law on Jan. 11, it became clear that the Democratic Party of Japan is not in control of the political situation. After briefly setting the agenda in the aftermath of the July 29 Upper House election by opposing the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, the DPJ finds itself pressured by both the Fukuda government and other opposition parties.

Since winning in July, the DPJ has faced an insoluble dilemma: Is it purely an opposition party, or does its primacy in the Upper House make it responsible for legislative outcomes?

DPJ President Ozawa Ichiro has exacerbated this tension by swinging from one extreme to the other, first opposing the Liberal Democratic Party vigorously, brooking no talk of compromise, then meeting with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda behind closed doors to discuss a grand coalition with the LDP, to the horror of his own party.

He further outraged the other opposition parties, whose cooperation is necessary for the DPJ to control the Upper House, by failing to bring the government's new antiterror special measures bill to a vote in the upper chamber and take a definitive stand against the legislation.

In short, in a political situation that demands subtlety and nuance, Ozawa has been at once vacillating and rigid, changing his positions based on his own perception of the political situation and forcing his party to follow along behind him.

Yet in spite of Ozawa's tactics, the DPJ still finds itself in a strong position in advance of the regular Diet session and the general election that many observers expect will be held this year. The question, therefore, is how the party can turn the sympathy it has gained since the election into the basis for a mandate to govern.

The answer lies not in doing the opposite of whatever the LDP does or in promising handouts and subsidies to rural voters, as the DPJ did in the 2007 election. The DPJ must recognize that in 2007 it got lucky: the combination of an ideologically driven, politically inept prime minister and a monumental scandal that exacerbated feelings of insecurity among the voters enabled the DPJ, with its emphasis on "lifestyle" issues, to win a historic victory over the LDP.

Having taken the MSDF refueling mission off the agenda before the start of the spring Diet session, the Fukuda government is now in position to counter the DPJ's offensive on lifestyle issues with its own plans. Unlike before, the DPJ will not be able to profit simply from being the only party talking about the concerns of the Japanese people.

To strengthen its position in advance of a general election, the DPJ should make governance the central issue in the clash with the LDP. The DPJ must move beyond simply trying to expose and embarrass the government and make a substantive critique of LDP rule that suggests how a DPJ government will transform how Japan is governed.

Corruption in the Defense Ministry and malfeasance in the Social Insurance Agency and the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare are symptoms of a larger problem, namely an utter lack of transparency and accountability in the Japanese government.

Japan needs robust accountability mechanisms — ombudsmen, auditors and inspectors general — that will expose and punish fraud, corruption, and abuse, before they pose major threats to the public interest. Similarly, the DPJ should demand a greater role for the Diet and its committees in overseeing government operations.

The scandal at the Social Insurance Agency, which festered for years before being brought to the attention of the public in Diet deliberations, is a perfect illustration of the consequences of opaque and unaccountable governance. The scandal shows that ex post facto accountability is inadequate: Japan's institutions must be monitored at all times.

For the Japanese government to be able to provide for its aging population, Japanese citizens must have confidence in national institutions. Without an "accountability" revolution, in which the Japanese people — acting through their elected representatives — demand that government institutions and bureaucrats be held accountable for their actions and punished swiftly when they violate the public trust, the pensions and hepatitis C scandals will not be the last of their kind.

The DPJ has signaled in the first weeks of the year that it is considering a new approach to governance, not least by calling for the creation of an independent consumer ombudsman. It is unclear, however, whether the DPJ will use this opportunity to reject systematically the culture of unaccountability that has persisted under the LDP for 50 years.

Criticizing the LDP for its systematic mismanagement of Japanese institutions — and offering concrete proposals illustrating how it will be better — may be the DPJ's best and only chance to distinguish itself from the LDP while presenting itself as the staunchest defender of the interests of the Japanese people.

Tobias Harris is a former aide to a DPJ member of the Upper House. He is now a freelance writer and author of Observing Japan, a Japanese politics blog.

Officialdom's classic how-tos

Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008

By REIJI YOSHIDA
Staff writer

The nature of bureaucrats hardly ever changes, even over the course of hundreds of years. As if to prove the point, documents from the 18th century that recently came to light on how to host government delegates closely resembles the wining and dining that led to scandals in the 1990s.

Photo: Documents from the 18th century explaining how delegations from the shogunate should be handled are shown to reporters in Chizu, Tottori Prefecture.

The documents, showing how to handle delegations from the shogunate, were recently made public by the board of education in Chizu, Tottori Prefecture. They include a 1761 record showing detailed meal menus for shogunate officials.

The documents were prepared by the Tottori clan and give detailed instructions on hosting five delegations sent by the shogunate from 1717 to 1837.

"Offer sake if someone (in the delegation) likes drinking," reads one of the documents, which was discovered at the house of the Ishitani family.

The shogunate, which was supposed to pay the costs of the meal, had issued a notice saying one dish and one bowl of soup would be enough for the delegation. But the documents show that far more delicious dishes were served to the guests.

The documents include a menu for a delegation of the Tsuyama clan, located next to the Tottori clan. Meals included bream sashimi, jellyfish and "yamane" trout, as well as stew and a meat dish.

"The delegation was so powerful that some regional samurai lords were deprived of their territories because of their report," Yasunori Murao, an expert on history and a member of the board of education, said during a telephone interview.

"The documents showed how sensitive (local officials) were in treating the delegations," he said.

The shogunate sent a delegation every time a new shogun was installed. The delegation was tasked with reporting on the regional political situations to the shogun.

Fast forward to the late 1990s, when local government officials engaged in excessive wining and dining of central government officials in bids to win bigger budgets.

Asked if these cases are similar to the ones shown in the Tottori documents, Murao said: "Yes, I think so."

Forum Advisory # 1

January 28, 2008

Please be advised that there is high interest for the upcoming Forum with over 500 registrants posted in the first week. Venue capacities are limited and we encourage all interested industry participants to finalize their registration, airline reservations and accommodations soon as possible.

Please be further advised that the Governor’s reception will be combined with the Guam Industry Forum Mixer to be held on the evening of Thursday, March 6, 2008.

www.guamindustryforum.com

Dates to remember:

•Registration will close no later than midnight (Pacific Standard Time), February 25, 2008 – subject to venue capacities.

•Questions are due no later than February 10, 2008.

•Applications for “One-on-One” discussions are due no later than February 10, 2008.

•Applications for Booth/Display space is due not later than February 10, 2008.


Address : Suite 306 Baltej Pavillion 415 Chalan San Antonio
City: Tamuning
St: Outside US
Zip: 96913

Quote of the Day: 1-30-08

The reliance on family succession is historical, a sort of underground current that still flows through Japan, whether in business or politics.
Kunihiko Okada, public management professor at Waseda University in Tokyo. Dynasty politics is rife in Japan with more than 30% of elected Diet members second and third generation politicians. (Los Angeles Times)

Japan makes 3rd PAC-3 deployment in Yokosuka

Jan 29 04:14 PM US/Eastern

YOKOSUKA, Japan, Jan. 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Japan made its third deployment of the ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor system at a Self-Defense Forces base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Wednesday, under a ballistic missile defense initiative mainly to deal with North Korea.

The move follows the first deployment last March in Saitama Prefecture and the second in November in Chiba Prefecture.

The three prefectures are all in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The Defense Ministry says the three deployments were made in the vicinity of Tokyo "to enforce missile defense in an area where the political and business nerve centers are located."

Two launchers of the PAC-3 were brought into the Air Self-Defense Force's Takeyama base early in the morning.

About 80 civic group members gathered in front of the base's main gate in protest against the deployment and squared off with rightist group members, with riot policemen standing between them. The standoff caused no trouble.

Japan's missile defense system is two-phased, in which an incoming ballistic missile is dealt with by first firing Standard Missile-3 interceptors from Aegis ships at sea when the missile is still outside the atmosphere, and if that fails, firing a PAC-3 from the ground.

By fiscal 2010 through March 2011, Japan plans to deploy the advanced missile defense system at 11 bases.

Panel to propose setting up new body for education reform

Jan 29 12:03 PM US/Eastern

TOKYO, Jan. 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — The Education Rebuilding Council has decided to urge the government to set up a new body to carry out its proposals, including reinforcement of moral education, informed sources said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will form the new body as requested after he receives the final report of the panel, headed by Nobel chemistry laureate Ryoji Noyori, on Thursday, the sources said.

The new organization to be established in February will be comprised of five experts from business circles and local authorities as well as several Cabinet members, including Fukuda, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura and education minister Kisaburo Tokai, they said.

The new body will supervise if the government will steadily implement the proposals of the council.

In addition to paying attention to moral education, the introduction of small, proficiency-dependent classes and assignment of special instructors in science, math, sports and art fields at the elementary school level will also be prioritized, they said.

Promotion of reforms at the undergraduate and graduate levels at university through the September enrollment system and expansion of English classes will also be encouraged by the new body.

The 16-member panel was set up in October 2006 under the initiative of then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Japan, US Rush for Anti-Missile Shield

By ERIC TALMADGE – 11 hours ago

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan (AP) — One of only four in the world, the Joint Tactical Ground Station sits in a field of snow behind the high fences of this remote base in northern Japan like a windowless trailer home with a few good satellite dishes out back.

It's not impressive. But this is the front line.

In a multibillion-dollar experiment, Japan and the United States are erecting the world's most complex ballistic missile defense shield, a project that is changing the security balance in Asia and has deep implications for Washington's efforts to pursue a similar strategy in Europe, where the idea has been stalled by the lack of willing partners.

The station here is the newest piece in the shield.

"Japan is one of our strongest allies in the ballistic missile defense arena," said Brig. Gen. John E. Seward, the deputy commanding general of operations for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

In a recent mock-up of how it would work, U.S. military satellites detect a flash of heat from a missile range in North Korea, and within seconds computers plot a rough trajectory across the Sea of Japan that ends in an oval splash-zone outlined in red near Japan's main island.

In a real-world crisis, the next 10 or 15 minutes could be the beginning of an all-out shooting war. Millions could die. Or, two missiles could collide in mid-air over the ocean.

Washington and Tokyo are banking on the idea that early warning of the kind provided by the Joint Tactical Ground Station, or JTAG, and another state-of-the-art "X-band" radar station recently deployed nearby will lead to the latter. They are pouring a huge amount of resources — the U.S. Missile Defense Agency is seeking an $8 billion budget this year — into establishing a credible warning and response network.

Though Washington's focus, and world attention, has shifted toward Iran, North Korea has over the past several years made major strides in its development of both nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them to the shores of other countries.

In October 2006, it conducted its first nuclear test — a step that Iran has not taken — and more than a decade ago shot a multistage ballistic missile over Japan's main island and well into the Pacific, almost reaching Alaska.

Japan's concerns are obvious: Its islands arc around the Korean Peninsula, and relations between the communist North and its former colonial ruler have never been good.

But the threat to the United States is also pressing.

Under a mutual security pact, the United States has about 50,000 troops deployed around Japan — all within reach of North Korea's missiles.

The U.S. military last year deployed a Patriot missile battalion to Kadena Air Base, on the southern island of Okinawa. The U.S. and Japanese navies have also increased their ability to intercept ballistic missiles from sea-based launchers.

In a test off Hawaii in December, Japan became the first country after the United States to shoot a missile out of the air with a ship-launched SM-3 interceptor. Japan hopes to equip its ships with such interceptor missiles over next several years.

The sea-based interceptors, which have a longer range than land-based Patriots, are Japan's first line of defense.

Seward said he hopes the alliance with Tokyo on ballistic missile defense will serve as a model for the world.

The U.S. operates its three other JTAGs in Germany, Qatar and South Korea.

But Washington's efforts to deploy missile interceptors in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic have deeply frayed ties between NATO and Moscow, which dismisses U.S. arguments that the installations are meant to counter a potential threat from Iran, saying they believe the intent is to weaken Russia.

Japanese officials admit that they have signed on to Washington's BMD alliance because the urgency of the Asian situation — which may not apply to Europe.

"Around Japan there are countries that could launch ballistic missiles against us," said Ro Manabe, the Ministry of Defense press secretary. "But in Europe, they do not have an imminent threat like that. In the near future, it may be possible that some countries, like Iran, may get that capability. But there are such states currently in this region. That is a basic and significant difference."

Manabe said the dense population of Tokyo makes the establishment of permanent bases inside the city unlikely.

Seward, meanwhile, said that while U.S. missile detection capabilities have vastly improved, it will largely fall to Japan to defend itself in an attack.

"Most assets in Japan are Japanese," he said. "The Japanese would have to defend themselves."

Nikkei tumbles to just above 13,000

Updated at 21:30(JST) Jan. 28

Tokyo share prices plunged on Monday with a key index tumbling by more than 500 points against the backdrop of increasing anxiety over the US and Japanese economies as well as a nosedive in other Asian markets.

The plunge in the Asian markets triggered broad sell orders in the afternoon, with 80 percent of all listed shares eventually falling for the day.

The TOPIX index of all first-section issues ended the day at 1,293, down 51 points from Friday's close.

The Nikkei average of 225 selected issues lost 541 points to close at 13,087 yen.

In particular, there was a significant dip on Monday in stock prices of companies that disclosed a worsened business performance in the October-to-December quarter.

Market sources say the market will remain volatile for the time being, as Japanese companies continue to disclose their quarterly account settlements.

They also say that in the United States, monetary authorities will hold financial policy meetings this week while the government's key economic indicators are expected to be released soon.

U.S. strategy for peace in Northeast Asia

By LEE JAE YOUNG
Column: Seoul Insights
Published: January 28, 2008

Seoul, South Korea — Washington envisions a rosy tinge to its alliance with Seoul with the advent of a new South Korean government led by incoming President Lee Myung-bak. There is no doubt that Lee's government, compared to its two predecessors, will be much more favorable toward Washington.

With the restored support of South Korea and that of Japan, the United States now can consider itself better positioned to drive its foreign policy in Northeast Asia as well as on the Korean peninsula. However, despite this brighter view, if the United States fails to base its foreign policy vision and schemes on a clear understanding of the realities and requirements for peace in the region, the U.S. political vision is doomed to failure.

Ruediger Frank, professor of East Asian political economy at the University of Vienna, has pointed out that after the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953, the increasing significance of Northeast Asia within the bipolar world order sustained peace in this area. The collapse of the socialist bloc, namely the withdrawal of one side of the power balance, created a power vacuum, however. Since then, the region has been in the process of reconstructing its power structures.

In these ongoing circumstances, the current six-party framework has carried the grave task of achieving denuclearization on the Korean peninsula, the goal that lies at the heart of peace in Northeast Asia. This framework has high potential for evolving into a multilateral security cooperation system that would continue promoting peace and stability in Northeast Asia even after the talks achieve a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

There is no doubt that the development of the current framework into such a system substantially depends on the U.S. role. The United States, which has more valid political clout than any other country in terms of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia, could pose the biggest obstacle to a new framework.

The main obstacle stems from the traditional policy approach the United States has taken in its relationship with East Asia. U.S. foreign policy in this region has been based on a hub-and-spoke concept, with the United States -- the hub -- positioned to wield its power through its bilateral relationships with Asian countries -- the spokes. Based on this platform, it is natural that the United States would have no incentive to support, or may respond negatively to, the emergence of a regional organization in this area. It is likely to prefer a framework in which it deems it can enjoy an upper hand.

Gerald Curtis, professor of political science at Columbia University in New York, has analyzed this in a report to the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry, a Japan-based research group. Curtis writes that the U.S. hub-and-spoke policy assumes that if a regional organization emerges in East Asia -- though Washington thinks the odds of this happening are low -- it could function unfavorably in terms of U.S. interests.

Curtis disagrees with this assumption, arguing that East Asian nations have a critical interest in a continued U.S. political, economic and security presence in the region. For instance, Japan considers its alliance with the United States as a balance against an increasingly powerful China. The Japan-U.S. alliance also provides China with a substantial security comfort zone, because the alliance weakens Japan's motivation to build up its own military forces.

Furthermore, Curtis claims that the hub-and-spoke approach is no longer effective as a strategy for pursuing U.S. interests in East Asia and that the United States should positively consider new multilateral approaches in promoting security discussions with East Asian countries. The six-party talks that include North Korea are a good example of such a model.

As shown in the agreement reached on Feb. 13 last year in the six-party talks, the reversal of the U.S. administration's stance -- from the usual hard line to engagement with North Korea -- helped the talks to achieve meaningful progress in denuclearization. U.S. President George W. Bush actually made the decision under pressure from the seriously worsening situations faced by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

However, the resulting progress has in effect lessened the security threat to the North American continent, with the United States paying a low price. This could mean that if a regional multilateral framework is given the opportunity to negotiate constructively, as it was designed to -- not unilaterally driven by the United States -- it could still contribute to U.S. strategic interests as well as those of the other stakeholders.

Members of the six-party talks share a common concern that this framework may be the last chance for achieving the current goal. This expectation has imposed on each member the collective pressure to protect this framework -- even with some degree of tolerance of Pyongyang's lapses and irregularities.

Now it seems that Washington is willing to respect the six-party framework. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on her way to Germany for talks on Iran's nuclear program on Jan. 22, reprimanded Jay Lefkowitz, Bush's special envoy on North Korean human rights, who recently argued that North Korea cannot be trusted to abandon its nuclear weapons.

She said of Lefkowitz, "He doesn't know what's going on in the six-party talks and he certainly has no say in the six-party talks." Her response was wise, clearing up possible confusion among the six-party members that the United States could change its stance toward North Korea over its failure to meet the Dec. 31 deadline for the disclosure of its nuclear programs.

The United States should continue this prudent approach in the current talks. Even after the six-party talks fulfill their goal, such an approach will be all the more necessary. The United States would be wise to undertakes to fill the power vacuum in Northeast Asia with a multilateral security cooperation system, as the political structure most conducive to U.S. strategic interests.

--

(Lee Jae Young is a freelance writer and citizen reporter for Ohmynews International. He has a master's degree from Cornell University Law School in Ithaca, New York.)

U.S. judge tosses monkey wrench into Henoko plans

Date Posted: 2008-01-28

An American district judge who ruled the Defense Department did not do its homework before moving ahead with plans for the new U.S. Marine Corps airfield at Camp Schwab is being hailed a hero by Okinawa environmentalists.

The San Francisco based U.S. District Court judge has agreed with teams of American and Japanese environmental groups that design plans for the new air station in northern Okinawa did not take into consideration environmental issues that could endanger dugongs living in the waters off Camp Schwab. Judge Marilyn Hall Patel upheld the environmentalists’ suit filed four years ago in the Northern California judicial district, agreeing that the Defense Department had not conducted an environmental study on the impact of building the new airfield in Oura Bay adjacent to Camp Schwab.

She concurred with the plaintiffs’ argument nobody considered the new construction’s effects on the Okinawa dugong, which is known to live in the shallow waters in the area, and gave the Defense Department three months to come up with a plan for determining the impact the airfield project would have on the dugong. The judge wants to see a plan that will protect the lumbering mammals that live in the salt water of Oura Bay.

Judge Patel’s ruling was the first ever on a suit brought from outside the United States, or for a project situated outside the United States. The dugong is considered an endangered species under Japanese law. The slow moving mammals are part of the manatee family. Churaumi Aquarium officials in Motobu say there are only a few dozen dugong now in Okinawa waters, and the number is already declining to dangerously low levels because of dangers caused by fishermens’ nets.

Japanese government officials in Tokyo subtly dismissed the American court ruling, saying it was unlikely the decision would slow the plan to build a new airfield at Camp Schwab so the contentious Futenma Marine Corps Air Station in Ginowan City could be closed. Japanese officials in Tokyo contend Judge Patel’s ruling only potentially impacts future operations at Camp Schwab, and not the construction process itself.

Okinawa Prefecture officials disagree. The chief of the Futenma Relocation Affairs Office says he thinks it will. Miwako Ueyonahara says an adverse environmental assessment will require inevitable changes. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled that the U.S. military violated federal law—the National Historic Preservation Act—by not thoroughly considering the dugong in the area.

Construction of the new airfield is critical to Japanese-American plans for restructuring U.S. forces in Japan. Constructing the new facility is linked not only with closing Futenma, but also with moving 8,000 U.S. Marines and their families from Okinawa to Guam. The new airfield is supposed to be operational by 2014.

Haves and have-nots in golf

Monday, Jan. 28, 2008

By KIROKU HANAI

Two recent scandals reflect the Japanese weakness for golf. In one, former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya allegedly provided favors to a Japanese trading company involved in defense contracts, after taking more than 100 one-day golf trips at the invitation of the company. In November, Moriya was arrested by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office on suspicion of taking bribes, along with his wife, who accompanied him on the golf courses.

The other affair involves seven members of the Sagamihara city assembly in Kanagawa Prefecture and the director of the city's urban construction bureau, who played golf in November at the U.S. military golf course at Camp Zama, where the U.S. Army's 1st Corps recently opened its forward deployment command center over Japanese public protests.

Citizens' groups criticized the conduct of the Sagamihara assembly members and official as tantamount to accepting the permanent U.S. military presence despite mounting national opposition.

Sagamihara gave a verbal warning to the construction bureau director, and the speaker of the city assembly, who was among the golfers, was forced to apologize to the assembly for his conduct.

In my opinion, both cases reflect special circumstances surrounding golf courses in Japan. Green fees are extremely high in Japan because of limited land space and high land prices. For example, the Koganei Country Club in Tokyo and the Sagami Country Club in Kanagawa Prefecture charge visitor fees of more than ¥30,000 per person on a weekday.

Many Japanese businessmen who took up golf on overseas assignments give it up after returning to Japan due to the higher fees. On Sundays and holidays, some young golf enthusiasts get up early and travel to distant courses for lower fees.

Moriya was probably looking for low-cost entertainment when he fell into the trap of expense-account golf. The Sagamihara city assembly members were also probably attracted by low fees at the U.S. military golf course, which are one-third to one-fourth of Japanese fees.

Nationwide there are 10 U.S. military golf courses. Of them, four are in the Tokyo metropolitan area — Tama, Yokota, Atsugi and Zama. Many golfers in the area are envious of the low fees charged at U.S. military golf courses.

Last year I had an opportunity to look at Camp Zama's golf course. The course, located in the central district of the city, has nets on its periphery because errant golf balls have damaged window panes of nearby Japanese homes. Nevertheless, reports of on-and-off accidents involving the course continue.

With roads in the city becoming congested due to a growing population, Sagamihara authorities seek the return of the course or, if that's not possible, the opening of the 1.7-km road around the course to civilian traffic. However, since U.S. military authorities require alternative sites in exchange for returning facilities, reversion is likely to be difficult.

The U.S. Marine Awase Meadows Golf Course in Okinawa is scheduled to be returned to Japan in November 2008. An alternative facility is being built in Ishikawa in northern Okinawa Prefecture.

Unlike Japanese Self-Defense Force facilities, most U.S. military bases have golf courses. While green fees at U.S. military golf courses are tax-free, Japanese golf courses require payment of the consumption tax and a golf-course usage tax of up to ¥1,200 in addition to green fees. Japanese golf course operators are demanding abolition of the golf tax, which they say constitutes double taxation. Tax authorities, however, have rejected the demand, saying that golf is a game of luxury.

The United States, whose land area is 25 times greater than Japan's, is full of golf courses where green fees are much lower than in Japan. Therefore, it is outrageous that U.S. military authorities have demanded land for golf courses in Japan, where space is limited.

The Japanese government, while imposing a special tax on local golf players, offers golf courses to the U.S. military for free and does not levy taxes on U.S. military players. This is contradictory. The government should strongly demand the reversion of U.S. military golf courses in densely populated areas.

There are also inequities with the fee system at U.S. military golf courses. Zama Golf Course Green Fees, listed on the U.S. Army Web site, are $12 to $14 for U.S. military personnel, ¥5,000 for Japanese employees and ¥3,000 for Ground Self-Defense Force personnel posted at Zama. GSDF personnel must pay double the rate for U.S. military personnel. Differences between Japanese and U.S. guests fees are much wider.

It is farcical that defense personnel of Japan must pay higher fees than their U.S. counterparts at U.S. military golf courses built on Japanese land.

The GSDF plans to move the headquarters for its central quick-response unit to Camp Zama by 2012 to improve Japan-U.S. military coordination. Since the Zama golf course will be under joint control of U.S. military and GSDF authorities from now on, it should charge the same fees to U.S. and Japanese golf players.

This may sound like a trivial matter, but it should serve as a testing board of Japan-U.S. military equality.

The government is having trouble reducing its excessive host-nation support for the U.S. military presence. It all started in 1977 when the government agreed to pay part of the salaries of Japanese personnel at U.S. military installations, breaking a basic principle in the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement. The government should have realized by now that yielding to an unreasonable demand only invites trouble down the road.

Kiroku Hanai is a journalist and former editorial writer for the Tokyo Shimbun.

Defense Ministry to reorganize into 3 bureaus

TOKYO, Jan. 28 KYODO
Jan.28.2008 06:44 JST

Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba unveiled in a recent interview a basic initiative to integrate civilian and Self-Defense Forces operations into three bureaus by drastically reorganizing the ministry, which is currently divided into internal civilian bureaus and staff offices of the SDF.

The move comes in the wake of a spate of scandals involving the Defense Ministry and the SDF connected to bribery, information leaks and the underreporting of fuel supplied in Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.

Ishiba told Kyodo News that he will present the initiative soon at a meeting of a panel of experts under the prime minister's office looking at reform of the ministry, in a bid to make the initiative the basis for the panel's reform plan.

The three new bureaus would handle defense buildup, operations and external affairs.

''There is no sense of unity between the suit and uniform sides,'' Ishiba said, blaming it mainly on structural problems and stressing the need to restructure the ministry into an ''organization with integrated responsibility and authority.''

Ishiba is apparently feeling a sense of crisis, especially over the incident in which a former chief of the Operations and Plans Division of the Maritime Staff Office failed to report errors to his superior about the amount of oil supplied to a U.S. ship in the Indian Ocean.

But Ishiba could face strong resistance from both the civilian and SDF sides because his initiative envisions a drastic change that would mix civilian bureaucrats and SDF members in the same bureaus.

According to Ishiba and other sources, the defense buildup bureau would be in charge of defense policy, budgets, personnel affairs and defense equipment procurement. It would combine current sections such as the Bureau of Defense Policy, and the Defense Policy and Programs Departments of the ground, maritime and air staff offices of the SDF.

The bureau of operations would oversee SDF troops by integrating the Bureau of Operational Policy and the operational departments of each SDF staff office.

Its bureau chief would also play the role of the current chief of staff of the SDF Joint Staff Office and the chief of staff of each staff office would assist the bureau chief.

The external affairs bureau would integrate public relations and Diet affairs.

Some director general positions would become political appointee posts to assist the minister.

If the panel incorporates the initiative in its reform plan, Ishiba intends that a reform promotion team to be established in the ministry in February will compile detailed plans prior to a bill to revise relevant laws possibly during an ordinary Diet session next year.

==Kyodo

Yokota noise lawsuit plaintiffs disband

01/28/2008
BY KEN SHIOHARA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

After nearly 12 years of fighting to end early-morning and night flights to and from the U.S. Forces Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, a plaintiff's group disbanded Sunday.

The group's 6,000 members pledged to keep monitoring damage caused by military aircraft flights.

It filed its first lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court in 1996 and won a partial victory when the Supreme Court ruled last May that the central government was responsible for the past suffering of members, awarding it 3.02 billion yen in damages.

However, the top court ruled out any future claims to damages and on the cessation of flights.

The plaintiffs did succeed in raising public awareness of the issue of noise pollution caused by military aircraft, the group said.

The 12-year case was the second such suit targeting the U.S. airbase, which sprawls over six municipalities in western Tokyo.

The first suit, filed in 1976, involved about 700 plaintiffs, but turned into an 18-year battle that failed to stir attention.

After enduring that experience, Yoshikazu Ono, 68, a plaintiff in both suits, decided that keeping area residents involved and informed was key.

The plaintiffs also took the unprecedented step of suing both the Japanese and U.S. governments.

Ono focused his energies on persuading reluctant residents to join in the fight. His powers of persuasion paid off when plaintiffs from about 10 municipalities in Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture joined the lawsuit.

"I didn't want the government to be able to claim that the complaints about damage were the 'rantings of a small group of people,'" Ono said.

To drive home that message, Ono's group made sure the courtroom gallery was filled for every hearing. Some hearings were attended by as many as 150 plaintiffs.

Although the Supreme Court ended up dismissing the plaintiffs' attempt to hold Washington liable, the plaintiffs group took their message overseas. Members visited the United States three times to press their case.

Toshiichiro Koitabashi, 77, recalls staging demonstrations in New York and Boston with the help of local groups.

But U.S. activists had never heard of the Yokota case, and most people in the street were also unaware of the issue, he said.

"I realized that we must work to strengthen ties between peace movements in the two countries," Koitabashi said.

Today, some young people who live near the base express a sense of ambivalence about the presence of the Americans.

"I'd like to become acquainted with people who live on the base, and yet I detest the aircraft. It's vexing," said Natsuki Ishizaka, 20, who lives nearby.

Still, she is hopeful a solution may emerge if "people could learn to understand each other's feelings. I will continue working on the Yokota issue," she said.

(IHT/Asahi: January 28,2008)

Activists bare report on GI atrocities against Japanese

Guam News
Monday January 28, 2008
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan, Variety News Staff

AN activist group from Okinawa has released a report compiling over 400 documented cases of gang rape, abduction, beating, murder and other forms of abuses committed by American soldiers against the Japanese people from the post-war period until recent years.

The reports compiled by the Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence showed that only 29 cases had corresponding records of convictions.

Most of the cases were never prosecuted and the suspects were allowed to go scot-free. Others had records of arrests but no charges were filed.

"Violence, human rights violations and sexual assault on women are among the problems brought about by U.S. military presence. We want to discuss these issues with women in Guam to find a way to minimize the problem," said Suzuyo Takazato, director of the Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence and chairman of the Okinawa Rape Emergency Intervention Counseling Center.

Takazato, a former Okinawa council member and 2005 Nobel Peace nominee, will keynote today's forum on women and human rights at the lecture hall of the Jesus S. and Eugenia A Leon Guerrero Building at the University of Guam.

* Relevant *

Takazato said the forum is particularly timely and relevant to Guam as the island prepares for the arrival of 8,000 Marines from Okinawa.

"I don't know how much the people of Guam realize the impact of having a big military concentration in a small island. Guam is half the size of Okinawa, where we have 28,000 troops and 22,000 families. The military presence is creating serious problems," Takazato said in an interview with Variety.

"As this region becomes the world front for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, we can expect more aggressiveness to come," she added.

Besides the impact on the social landscape, Takazato said the Okinawa population also has to deal with environmental destruction and noise pollution brought about by military exercises.

"Our government only sees the economic benefits of having the U.S. military but we really have to think about the problems that it brings. I feel that Guam should be aware of this," Takazato said.

"Most people in Okinawa know Guam only through (travel) advertisements. Most Japanese know Guam simply as a tourist destination," Takazato said.

* Similarities *

What most Okinawans don't know is the similar histories shared by the two islands, Takazato said.

Like Guam, she said, the island of Okinawa was captured by a foreign government and battered by the war. The continuing U.S. military presence gives a constant reminder of the traumatic episode in history, Takazato said.

Okinawa lost a quarter of its population during World War II. While suffering from the abuses of the U.S. troops, Takazato said the Okinawans also feared the Imperial Japanese Army.

"The Japanese troops were stationed in Okinawa to protect the territory and not the people. The Japanese soldiers killed the Okinawa people that they suspected to be spies. Many families experienced the loss of family members and many children became orphans," Takazato said. "Those experiences are seated deeply in Okinawa people; this is why we have sentiments against the military presence," she said.

Takazato said the cases of abuses committed by the American troops during the postwar period were never solved and those who committed them were never punished.

After the war, Okinawa was placed under the control of the U.S. military beginning in 1945. During which time, Okinawa couldn't prosecute crimes committed by military personnel. "It was only after Okinawa was reverted to Japan in 1972 that military crimes were brought to civilian courts," Takazato said.

* Nightmares *

While the people of Guam are still awaiting war reparations and apology from the Japanese government for the sexual enslavement of Chamoro women and other atrocities committed by the Imperial Army, the people of Okinawa have their own nightmares to confront related to the abuses of the American troops.

The documented cases included incidents such as women being gang raped in front of their husbands and fathers.

Women issues in relation to the military relocation will be the focus of today's forum, which starts at 3:30 p.m.

The forum was organized by the Fuetsan Famalao'an, the Women and Gender Studies Program and the Department of Social Work at UOG.

Takazato's lecture will be followed by a panel presentation from representatives of the Asia-Japan Women's Resource Center delegation.

US Presses Japan To Speed Up Military Base Move -AFP

01-27-080739ET

TOKYO (AFP)--The U.S. has pressed Tokyo to speed up talks on implementing a plan to move a U.S. military base and build new runways as part of a deal that would reduce the number of Marines in Japan, media reported Sunday.

The plan to relocate the base on Okinawa island was agreed between the two countries after locals made a number of complaints about incidents involving the U.S. soldiers. The move would also free up Marines to be moved to the Pacific island of Guam.

However, Tokyo is making slow progress in talks with Okinawa officials about the realignment, leading to U.S. unrest.

In an interview aired on Japan Broadcast Corporation, Washington's ambassador to Japan, Thomas Schieffer, said: "It would make it very difficult for us to negotiate things in the future if we were going to have agreements that are not going to get implemented.

"That's not good for the alliance, not good for either government. That's not good for either people," he said in the footage aired Sunday.

Tokyo and Washington made the agreement in 2006 but Okinawans have protested against it as it could still pose danger to area residents.

Schieffer calls on Japan to assume bigger role

Updated at 18:00(JST) Jan. 27

The US Ambassador to Japan, Thomas Schieffer, has called on Japan to be more vocal in the international community.

During an interview with NHK on Friday in Tokyo, the Ambassador praised Japan for enacting new legislation on January 11, which will allow the country to resume its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and support US-led anti-terrorism activities.

He said that by passing the new legislation, Japan has sent a strong message that it will continue to work with the international community and stop terrorism.

Mr Scheiffer expressed the hope that Japan and the United States will further strengthen their alliance, after redressing bilateral relations that had been stalled by the suspension of the refueling mission.

However, he added that he understands constitutional restrictions still remain on Self-Defense Force activities.

The US Ambassador said it is up to Japan to decide what role it should play in the international community.

Japan to boost air defences: report

2 hours, 55 minutes ago

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan is to boost its defences against cruise missiles as China increases its air strike capabilities, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Sunday.

The defence ministry plans to increase the number of aircraft equipped with airborne warning and control systems and install state-of-the-art radar to allow early detection of precision-guided missiles heading for Japan, the daily said.

Photo: This photo, released by the Japanese Defence Ministry, shows a Japanese Maritime Defence Force's destroyer Kongo launching a missile off Hawaii, in the Pacific Ocean, in December 2007. Japan is to boost its defences against cruise missiles as China increases its air strike capabilities, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Sunday.

It is also considering developing an advanced long-range surface-to-air missile, the report said, citing senior defence ministry sources.

The government has so far mainly focused on developing a ballistic missile defence system, primarily in response to a perceived threat from North Korea.

Meanwhile, China has equipped its fighter jets and submarines with domestically developed cruise missiles, which have a range in excess of 1,000 kilometers (625 miles), the newspaper said.

Beijing is also believed to have started developing advanced precision-guided missiles with a range of about 3,000 kilometers -- similar to that of the US military's Tomahawk cruise missile, it said.

Chinese fighter jets repeatedly approached Japan last year, coming close enough to launch a cruise missile before returning to Chinese air space, the newspaper said.

"We believe these acts were unlikely to be part of information-gathering exercises, but rather drills to prepare for a possible cruise missile attack on Japan," a senior Japanese defence official told the Yomiuri.

Guam's Young, Steeped in History, Line Up to Enlist

By Blaine Harden
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, January 27, 2008; A15

U.S. Territory Pays High Cost in War Deaths


BARRIGADA, Guam -- As a recruiter for the Guam Army National Guard, Staff Sgt. Gonzalo Fernandez has oodles of time for golf. In the past two years, he has taken 18 strokes off his handicap.

Slipping away to the links, however, has done nothing to dull his rising star at the office. Thanks to the eagerness of young Americans on this remote Pacific island to join the military, Fernandez is a two-time winner of the Guard's recruiter of the year award for a seven-state western region that includes Colorado, Utah and California.

"I'll win it again this year," said Fernandez, who also expects to have time for a lot more midweek golf. "I have a very relaxing life."

On the U.S. mainland, long-running wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have made life miserable for military recruiters. The armed forces have repeatedly missed enlistment targets, and standards have been lowered in response. More recruits with criminal records and histories of drug abuse have been allowed to enlist. And recruiters, pressured to meet quotas, have increasingly been accused of unethical and criminal misconduct.

Photo: Staff Sgt. Gonzalo Fernandez has won the Army National Guard's regional recruiter of the year award for the past two years. Recruits are so abundant that they have to call him: He sees them by appointment only.

Nothing of the sort is happening here.

Part of the reason is economic. Poverty rates and unemployment on Guam -- a U.S. territory located more than 7,500 miles west of Los Angeles -- are historically much higher than on the mainland, and wages are low. Schools are poor, and technical training is hard to find. There is not much for young people to do.

But those are not the most important reasons, according to enlistees and recruiters, families of soldiers killed in action and veterans of the Iraq war.

The key factor, they agree, is the island's unique status in American history. People here grow up with war ringing in their ears -- as described by their grandparents.

Guam, a U.S. possession since it was taken in 1898 from the Spanish, is the only American soil with a sizable population to have been occupied by a foreign military power.

During World War II, the Japanese held the island for almost three years and brutalized nearly everyone on it. They created concentration camps, forcing the indigenous Chamorro people to provide slave labor and sex.

"If there is a group of Americans who understand the price of freedom, we do," said Michael W. Cruz, lieutenant governor of Guam and a colonel in the Army National Guard.

Cruz's grandmother told him awful stories: She was held in a concentration camp. She was forced to watch as Japanese soldiers chopped off the heads of her brother and her eldest son. Her eldest daughters were forced into prostitution.

Today, Guam is a haven for Japanese tourists, who account for most of the visitors to the island and whose spending powers much of the economy. But people haven't forgotten.

"We saw war in color -- the beaches were splattered with blood," said Cruz, referring to the 1944 liberation of Guam by U.S. forces, in which 3,000 Americans and 18,000 Japanese were killed.

"When our nation calls us to serve, it is for us to answer it," Cruz said.

So military recruiters on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, also administered by the United States, have an embarrassment of riches. Standards have not been lowered. Targets are routinely exceeded. At his Army National Guard office, Fernandez meets potential recruits only if they call ahead and make an appointment.

With a population of 173,000, Guam ranked No. 1 in 2007 for recruiting success in the Army National Guard's assessment of 54 states and territories. (Maryland ranked last, the District second to last, and Virginia was 30th.)

"I have got 12 people who want to join up this month," Fernandez said. "But I can only process three of them because of lack of doctors to give them physicals. We can afford to be picky."

Roshjun Aguon, 19, plans to join the Army when he finishes his agriculture studies at the University of Guam, where he is in ROTC.

Serving in the military, he said, is in his family's blood. His father, his two uncles and most of his cousins have joined. His cousin Richard Junior D. Naputi, 24, was killed two years ago in Iraq by an improvised explosive device.

"Of course the unpopularity of this war affects us," Aguon said. "Mothers and sisters do not want to see us go off to war. But it is a tradition for my family."

And for the entire population. Liberation Day, July 21, is far and away the most important of Guam's holidays -- and is celebrated for the better part of a month, with speeches, parades and wild parties.

Photo: Twenty-four Micronesian service members, memorialized in Guam's airport, have died in the current wars, a rate far higher than on the U.S. mainland.

During the Vietnam War, at least 70 servicemen from Guam were killed, a death rate nearly three times the national average. That war was not viewed on Guam as misguided or a failure, many residents here say.

In the current wars, Micronesia is absorbing an exceptionally high death toll -- 10 from Guam, 14 from the rest of Micronesia. On a per capita basis, various parts of Micronesia have killed-in-action rates up to five times as high as on the mainland.

But that has not hurt recruiting. In fact, commanders here limit the number of war-zone duty tours for which soldiers can volunteer -- so that other soldiers can get a chance to see action, according to Lt. Col. Marvin R. Manibusan, commander of the Guam Army National Guard's recruiting and retention division.

Poster-size pictures of the dead are displayed at the international airport.

One photograph is of Army Maj. Henry San Nicolas Ofeciar, who was killed in an ambush in Afghanistan in August. He was a 37-year-old career officer and had volunteered for duty in a combat zone.

Photo: "I respect my son's decision to serve. You tell Washington that we support what he did," Agnes Rillera, left, says of Maj. Henry San Nicolas Ofeciar, who was killed in Afghanistan. At right is her daughter Orlene Ofeciar Arriola.

His mother is Agnes Rillera.

"The pain of his death I will take to the grave," she said. "But I respect my son's decision to serve. You tell Washington that we support what he did."

When Ofeciar's remains were flown back to Guam, hundreds of people showed up at the airport to pay their respects -- even though the coffin arrived on a flight that landed in the middle of the night, Rillera said.

The governor and lieutenant governor of Guam have gone to the airport to receive the bodies of most of the fatalities.

When a hearse carrying the coffin of a war casualty leaves the airport and travels across the island, which is about three times the size of the District of Columbia, residents here often line the streets in silence, holding up candles.

The people of Guam are very much aware of the failings of U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Ofeciar's sister, Orlene Ofeciar Arriola.

"One thing about Guam, as compared to the mainland, we are not as fickle," she said. "Our loved ones made a commitment. We are not going to dishonor their service because the policy is not correct."

Another 'Frozen' Mammoth: LDP

Government set to step up air defense / Cruise missile attack fears behind move

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The Defense Ministry has decided to improve the nation's defenses against cruise missiles, which can bomb important military facilities and other targets with pinpoint accuracy, in light of China's increasing air strike capabilities, The Yomiuri Shimbun learned Saturday.

The ministry plans to increase the number of aircraft equipped with airborne warning and control systems (AWACS) and install state-of-the-art radar in the next-generation P-X patrol aircraft to enable the early detection of precision-guided missiles heading for Japan.

The development of an advanced long-range surface-to-air missile also is being discussed.

The improvements will be included in the government's midterm defense buildup plan, which likely will start being reviewed next fiscal year.

The government has so far mainly concentrated on developing and introducing a ballistic missile defense system, primarily in response to a perceived threat from North Korea.

Consequently, improving the country's ability to counter a cruise missile attack has been lower down on the government's list of priorities.

"We haven't recognized [cruise missiles] as a major threat," a senior official of the Self-Defense Forces said.

China has equipped its fighter jets and submarines with domestically developed cruise missiles, which have a range in excess of 1,000 kilometers.

Further, Beijing is believed to have started developing advanced precision-guided missiles with a range of about 3,000 kilometers--a range similar to the U.S. military's Tomahawk cruise missile.

A security report issued by Taiwan in 2006 said Chinese cruise missiles had become capable of accurately targeting important enemy facilities and infrastructure.

Around the end of last year, the Defense Ministry learned that Chinese Air Force fighter jets were repeatedly approaching Japan--close enough to launch a cruise missile--before returning to Chinese air space. As a result, the ministry drew up an internal analysis report saying that an appropriate response mechanism was urgently required.

A senior SDF official said, "We believe these acts were unlikely to be part of information-gathering exercises, but rather drills to prepare for a possible cruise missile attack on Japan."

Governments are less reticent about using cruise missiles due to their ability to strike specific targets with pinpoint accuracy, resulting in limited collateral damage. This is in contrast to the use of ballistic missiles, which are weapons of mass destruction.

The U.S. military has effectively employed precision-guided missiles in its antiterrorism operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"Cruise missiles are more likely to be used [than other weapons]. They're more effective and can knock out opponents' central functions," a senior SDF official said.

In addition to installing larger and more effective radar in its P-X aircraft, and introducing more AWACS-equipped aircraft to bolster the four presently in service, the ministry plans to step up its research and development of long-range surface-to-air missiles.

In addition, the ministry will study whether it is possible to bring down cruise missiles by bombarding them with electronic signals.

(Jan. 27, 2008)